Beer: Reviews & Ratings

Pours black with a very small head.Nose shows vanilla, soft roast and milk chocolate. Very sweet-smelling.Pretty similar flavours, heaps of vanilla and milk chocolate notes, a lot of sweetness followed by some astringent roasted malt. (236 characters)

Poured into a Haw River Farmhouse Ales teku glass. Notches indicate Best Before 12/15.

A- Pours a 99% opaque black color with a 1/2 inch light brown head that retains good and long before becoming a thick ring around the edge of the glass and a half sheet of sheer surface foam. Semi-resilient lacing trickles down the glass leaving small clots behind.

T- Flavor is more subdued with plenty of butterscotch still coming through but the dark roast provides a bit of balance keeping the scales from tipping. The sweetness keeps the alcohol from being detected, much like a flavored liqueur. Kind of like a Starbucks caramel macchiato with alcohol. In short, I love it!

M- Soft, creamy, delectable. Medium-low carbonation and a full body.

O- Forget about Southern Tier. This is what you should be seeking out if you want that sugar rush. (927 characters)

330 ml bottle into snifter, best before 12/2015. Pours nearly opaque dark brown color with a 1 finger dense khaki head with good retention, that reduces to a thin cap that lingers. Light spotty soapy lacing clings around the glass. Aromas of huge vanilla, cream, frosting, milk chocolate, cocoa, coffee, light roast, and toast. Incredible aromas with fantastic balance and complexity of dark/roasted malt and creamy/sugary lactose sweetness; with great strength. Taste of big milk chocolate, cocoa, coffee, vanilla, cream, frosting, roasted malt, light toffee, and toast. A fair amount of roasted bitterness on the finish; with lingering notes of milk chocolate, cocoa, coffee, vanilla, cream, frosting, roast, and toast on the finish for a while. Very nice complexity and robustness of of dark/roasted malt and sugary lactose sweetness; with a good malt/bitterness balance and zero cloying sweetness after the finish. Light-medium carbonation and medium bodied; with a smooth, fairly creamy, and slightly slick mouthfeel that is nice. Alcohol is well hidden with minimal warming present after the finish. Overall this is an awesome imperial milk stout. All around great complexity and balance of dark/roasted malt and sugary lactose sweetness; and very smooth to drink for the ABV. A highly enjoyable offering. (1,311 characters)

Poured into a Fremont small snifter. Pours opaque black with a half finger light brown head with good retention and lacing. Aroma is almost pure crème brulee, with hints of sweet dark malt and chocolate in the background. Flavor is more traditional milk stout, sweet dark malt, lactose, light crème brulee toffee, vanilla, finishes with an odd hop bitterness that sees to come out of nowhere in the aftertaste. Medium bodied with light creaminess. A nice milk stout that has definite crème brulee flavors, but much more subdued in the taste than the amazing aroma. Flavor carries through to the finish and the hop bite at the end is odd, but pleasant. Enjoyable. My bottle matched the label shown in the photo here, but makes no mention of "innovation Serie" and the ABV is 8.0%, but I suppose this must be the same stout, so I'm reviewing it here. (851 characters)

Dark malty color. Not much of a head for the poor. This tastes of a standard stout with an aftertaste of milky sugars that's indicative of a creme brulee. The taste instantly brought me back to my days of making creme brulee macchiatos. This beer is rich and dark with a complex body. Would be very enjoyable by itself or with a heavy meat dish. (347 characters)

A: Pours an opaque yet still clear when held up to the light on an angle almost jet black in color with minimal amounts of gentle visible carbonation along the edges of the glass and some dark cola brown highlights. The beer has a half finger tall sudsy foamy beige head that quickly reduces to a medium sized patch of very thin film and a thin ring at the edges of the glass. Light to moderate amounts of lacing are observed.

S: Moderate to strong aromas of vanilla, cream, and sugar with just a hint of sweetness - very reminiscent of creme brulee. Light hints of roasted malts with a lactose sweetness.

T: Upfront there is a light flavor of roasted malts with a light flavor of milk chocolate contributing a touch of sweetness. That is followed by strong flavors of vanilla with moderate flavors of cream and burnt sugar. Overall the beer is moderately sweet and that sweetness lingers in the finish.

M: Just shy of full bodied with light to moderate amounts of carbonation. Slightly creamy with just a hint of alcohol warming in the finish as the beer warms up.

O: This is a nice dessert beer but the highlight of this beer is the smell which is spot on for creme brulee. Definitely sweet so a nice dessert but one that you need to slowly sip and enjoy. (1,261 characters)

Nose smells exactly like the crust on a creme brulee. It needs points for this. Vanilla, lactose, just a hint of the dark roast behind it.

Taste has only a hint of the vanilla, perhaps a bit of roast. Is generally not that bold but not unpleasant.

Mouthfeel sometimes has hints of the caramelised creme brulee crust coming through, and it truly is delicious. Possibly average, light-bodied mouthfeel for 8%, but there's no hint of the alcohol. Little bit bitter and astringent.

Don't get the relatively low rating for this, this really, really smells and to a lesser extent tastes like a creme brulee, pretty much as close as I can imagine a beer being. And it's got a European Stout backdrop to it, meaning it's actually dry in the mouth. A winner in my book. (809 characters)

Pours semi thock, nearly black in color. Small 1/8in tan colored head. Went away pretty fast but left a ring thruout consumption. Minimal lacing with small amounts of legs... very thin skin...

The smell was just forefront creme brule. I mean you can smell it 2 feet away from the glass. Vanilla(the extract kind), caramelized sugar, Creme filling.. I smell nothing of a stout besides some hint of chocolate and roast. Smell was just delish. Honestly, this is one of those beers you let bmc drinkers smell to show them the potential of craft brews.

Taste was subdued well behind the smell. Roast and chocolate, vanilla, sugar and a slight coconut touch. Lingering bitterness but the creme brule taste sticks around long after.

Medium to thin bodied, nicely carbonated which always seems to be an issue with me but this one was where it supposed to be.

Overall a really good brew. Id say slightly better than southern tiers as that was overly sweet. The name of the brew is exactly what you get. A good desert beer. (1,048 characters)

Pours a clear, black color. 1/2 inch head of an off-tan color. Great retention and good lacing. Smells of sweet malt, slight oatmeal, cream, yeast, strong chocolate, and a hint of hop. Fits the style of an American Double / Imperial Stout. Mouth feel is sharp and clean, with an average carbonation level. Tastes of sweet malt, slight yeast, cream, hint of roasted malt, hint of oatmeal, chocolate, and a hint of hop. Overall, good appearance, aroma, body, blend, and complexity. The sweetness was cloying by the end of the glass, but otherwise a great beer. (558 characters)

T: More creme brulee (double duh) up front with loads of vanilla and toasted sugar. Surprisingly not as strong as the aroma, however. There is a big sweet chocolate component that kicks in in the middle, becoming bitter in the finish. Quite bitter, like plain cocoa by the time you reach the aftertaste. Long lingering bitter cocoa aftertaste. Almost has that dusty quality that you get if you try to eat actual cocoa powder, even.

M: Medium bodied but creamy. Quite bitter and dry in the aftertaste.

O: Yum. As a fan of ST's Creme Brulee I naturally enjoyed this as well. This has a better, less artificial flavor. It is also far less sweet, especially in the finish and aftertaste where it actually gets quite bitter. It's almost too much in a way. Much more drinkable this way though, and it's a nice transition from sweet to bitter, from start to finish. Very nice. (1,315 characters)

Taste/feel: Hm. A medium feel is the first thing I notice. Given the style and ABV, I was thinking it'd be thicker. Carbonation is about medium. The flavor is just not at all what I was expecting. Surprisingly mild. Shockingly doesn't really have any taste until after the swallow, where there's a bit of roast, and creme brulee quality. The most dominant thing I pick up on in this beer's taste though, is just a nonstop bitterness that lingers, lingers, and lingers some more. It's a bitterness not associated with hops (not really a hop flavor that I'm picking up) or roasted malt (there, but not in a copious amount). Truthfully, I don't think I've had a non-IPA with such a lingering bitterness, and I was expecting this to be a sweet beer based on other creme brulee beers I've had in the past. Aside from the bitterness, the creme brulee flavor also sticks around for awhile, but the bitterness is just wild, out of control for me... very uncharacteristic. Additionally, the finish is chalky/almost gritty. Although not a super high ABV, the alcohol is hidden as far as flavor, but there is a slight warmth at the end.

Talk about a disappointment. This beer needs some serious balancing. The aroma was incredible, but unfortunately, this isn't a candle. The pour was also nice, and lacing left behind was great, but I don't need to tell you that all that truly matters is a beer's flavor, and this one is just, again, a disappointment. As it warms it's a little bit better, with the bitterness fading a touch and more flavor coming through, but still, I can't see this being worth $6 in any way. I get that it's an import, but the bitterness, quite thin mouthfeel, and shocking lacking flavor, will keep me from ever wanting to try this one again. This one's scored a 3 overall from me due to the price and overall experience. Most unsatisfying brew I've had in quite some time. I guess my expectations were just way too high. (2,413 characters)

The nose is awesome. I poured it and couldn't wait to taste. Initially, the vanilla is wonderful. Then came a very bitter aftertaste and not a pleasant one like a coffee. The flavor is not terrible but does not keep the promise the aroma leads one to expect. (258 characters)

Bought this on recommendation of being amazing and it definitely is amazing on the smell. Uncapped and poured it smells like you are sitting down to creme brûlée nice and sweet with brown sugar and vanilla notes. Lacks on taste where it's bitter, burnt and not really pleasant to drink. Bitterness shines through and feel is medium and a bit thin. Miss for me, surprised on the high ratings (392 characters)

A: The beer is close to being jet black in color—faint traces of red are visible near the corner of the glass when it is held up to a bright light. It poured with a S: Moderate to strong aromas of vanilla beans, cream and sugar are present in the nose. T: The taste follows the smell and is rather sweet with lots of flavors of vanilla beans along with notes of cream and hints of chocolate. M: it feels medium- to full-bodied on the palate and has a moderate amount of carbonation. Hints of warming from the alcohol are perceptible. O: The smell of this beer is its forté; you get strong aromas a few inches away from the bottle as soon as you take the cap off. The taste is a little weaker but it makes for a really nice dessert beer if you are looking for something sweet. (782 characters)

How much caramel, cream and vanilla character can a Stout support? I'm not sure of the answer either, but this Dutch brewery doesn't simply tippy-toe to the line, rather they dance on it!

Yet like any other substantial Stout, this characterful ale pours with a lush and feathery black nestle. As the carbonation rises to form an espresso-like creme on top of the beer, its body is onyx-like but tawny ruby at the edge. Mildly tanned, its head is spotty in its lace and supple in its retention to take on a rich espresso appearance.

Strongly aromatic, the ale smells as much like dessert as it does beer. Chocolate, coffee, roasted nuts and char all reinforce the stout nose. But layers of sweetness come in waves. First- caramel, then vanilla, and then heavy whipping cream before returning to coffee again.

Expected in taste is the early sweetness of praline and caramel. Soon after, the bittersweet chocolate rises, and then the unmistakable vanilla, and then malty milkshakes! All this comes together in a very "cream-soda" kinda way. Even if there's an artificial (saccharine) bitterness and plasticity that play into the extracts that achieve the ale's sweet balance; I can't help but to play into her succulence. Finishing with strong coffee bitterness, the brunt of hops and char are easily masked by the ales sweet finish.

Full bodied for sure, yet the ale doesn't go overboard on its weight. It's certainly velvety and smooth, but it is also tame in its lushness and actually achieves a generous malty-dry feel because of its tempered body and bitter dryness.

I would have no problem foregoing the after dinner port or cognac for this gem of a beer. Pair it with a savory pecan pie or a more local Derby Pie and I'd be happy to give this sultry beer an even higher nod. (1,793 characters)